Marikina Culinary and Heritage Tour part I

Marikina is known as the ” Shoe Capital of the Metro Manila ” and even in the Philippines. The author together with Mr. Jonathan J. Blaza and Ms. Vonette Fernandez both residents of Barangay Santo Niño in cooperation with Marikina Tourism Office organized a Culinary , Industrial and Heritage tour. All the itineraries were made by our group. Mr. Jonathan Blaza’s family were one of the pioneers of the city. They have an old ancestral house which unfortunately burned-down in 1998 .

Don Leureano Guevarra statue

Don Laureano Guevarra ( aka Kapitan Moy ) (4 July 1851 – 30 December 1891), who was known as the Founder of the Marikina Shoe Industry. Also known as Kapitan Moy, he served as capitan municipal in the city.

historical marker

A historical marker honoring him as the Pioneer of the Shoe-making Industry in Marikina was installed at his birthplace in 1970. The house is 225 plus years- old. It is located along J.P. Rizal street corner Deguangco street within barangay Santa Elena . As time passes -by , Doña Teresa dela Paz was actively engaged in philanthropic services for the poor and underprivileged. She bought the house of Kapitan Moy to serve the needs of the marginal sector of the community. The dwelling place of Kapitan Moy was eventually transferred to his brother-in-law Don Jose Espiritu. Subsequently , it was transformed into a primary school in 1907-1955 and many years later, the local government of Marikina developed it to be the city’s cultural center.

Cafe Kapitan

There are 2 restaurants at the ground floor area which are tenants of the historical house . Cocina de Kambal and Cafe Kapitan .

Cocina de Kambal

Bulwagan bayani

The second floor serves as an event or venue place . It is fully air-conditioned and can house 300-500 guests. It also had a stage area and an elevator service for people with disability. Venue rentals starts at Php 15,000 for 4 hours and payment can be made at the Marikina Cityhall.

old house

This is a pre-world war 2 house along J.P. Rizal owned by a lawyer .

The building had a fish gargoyle and a Spanish -Mediterranean style architecture.

Mr. Lance Manasan

Mr. Lance Manasan selling his slogan t-shirts beside the Our Lady of the Abandoned Church . He works at a BPO industry and his sideline is selling slogan t-shirts.

contact : 0922-8994948

email: lance.manasan@yahoo.com

Shoe Museum

The shoe museum is another historical place in Marikina. The original building used to be a rice storage area ( Camalig )

shoe park

The shoe park is just adjacent to the shoe museum with manicured lawn , century-old acacia tree and some ornamental plants.

The museum was conceived in 1998 under then Mayor Bayani F. Fernando on the assumption that the City, being the Shoe Capital of the Philippines, can be a significant venue for nurturing the historical and cultural values of its shoe industry.

Bayani Fernando’s construction hat and shoes

It was opened in February 16, 2001 and was initially called the Footwear Museum of Marikina.

Entrance fee of Php 50 per head , big groups must have a prior appointment before visiting the place.

There are also over 100 famous people like politicians, artists , celebrities , former presidents which donated their shoes at the shoe museum list includes Dolphy, German Moreno, Maria Venus Raj , President Fidel Ramos, President Joseph Estrada , Postmaster General Maria Josefina dela Cruz , Senator Ralph Recto among others.

Mrs. Imelda Marcos shoes

The 800 pairs of shoes of Mrs. Marcos, are part of the 3,000 pairs collection which she accumulated performing her duties as first lady during her husband’s 20-year incumbency.

Imelda Marcos portrait

She wore those shoes at meetings with dignitaries both here and abroad. Aside from the shoes. Most of the collection came Malacañang Palace

Before we left the Shoe Museum , We bought some interesting postcards ( 6 pieces ) per pack – Php 50 . All the participants signed the postcards and will be send via the Marikina post office for posterity and part of our collection.

Don Isabelo Mendoza Street

Isabelo’s Restaurant

Rustic Morning Restaurant is some sort of garden, artists haven , gourmet place . The place is also an event venue place. Rustic Morning’s by Isabelo.

old wine bottles

Some of the paintings are for sale . We would also recommend that a prior appointment must be made several days or weeks in advance.

It used to be made at their home and eventually words quickly spread and orders began turning almost an entire block into a colorful array of native delicacies .

kutsinta

229 J.P Rizal Street, San Roque , Marikina City

Contact : 645-6607 / 940-48-67/ 467-98-06

Cellphone : 0916-319-1811

Goto Garahe

Goto Garahe is a home -style restaurant which is located along 269 J.P. Rizal street . The restaurant started its operation in the late 1999 and closed down for several months after it was inundated by Ondoy in 2009 . The place can accommodate up to to 50 to 60 people at any time of the day

We planned to tour around the historical district and concentrate the tour within district 1 .

Mama Chit’s

collection

Mama Chit’s collection of old bottles, coke items, advertisement posters, car plate number , old photos , toys are simple astonishing . According to some, They got some of the biggest collection of coke items in this side of Marikina on display.

giant size-burger

It took us a while before we finished the giant size burger. 1 burger can feed 4 to 6 people.

Address : 278 J. P Rizal Street ,Barangay San Roque , Marikina City

Contact ( 02) 646-85-47

Note: It is just a few meters away from Shoe Museum, Our Lady of the Abandoned Church and Kapitan Moy Heritage House

mural

The city-hall structure was built in the 1940’s. Eventually, a more modern building replaced the old one in the 1960’s while several renovation and structure was built after the 2009 Ondoy floods.

Marikina Cityhall

There are also bust of all the former mayors . The area was severely flooded due to Bagyong Ondoy aka Typhoon Ketsana , floods reached the second floor of the building and almost all the records were destroyed .

grill works

The group passed and visited the city hall with its unique grill works and murals .

Marikit statue

Origin and Etymology

– Marikit is a 40 feet statue ( about 4 to 5 story) along the riverside area. In one legend it was believed that she was the first lady who accidentally fell and got drowned in the river. The riverbanks area is a hub for the people of Marikina and nearby places. Before 1788 according to some historical account the name of the town was ” Marikit – Na ” Tagalog term for pretty .

rows of restaurants

There are rows of restaurants , bars and grilling stations . During the Yuletide season , there are flea market style bazaars which showcases the products of Marikina. Another legend was a young priest named “Mariquina” who was given the task of baptizing children to Christianity. Because of this very noble job, Mariquina was named in his honor, However there was not historical records to verify such claim. Another story was there was a beautiful and noble lady named a beautiful, virtuous, polite and intelligent lady named Maria Cuina was residing in the town. Because of her expertise in business, she became rich and her fortunes were expended in charity and eventually became famous in the whole town up to Manila. When a traveler from other towns visited the barrio, he asked for the name of the town, a resident replied “Maria Cuina” thinking that what was being asked was their admirable lady. Since then, the story spread throughout and the town was known as “Mariquina”

Captain Felix Berenguer de Marquina y FitzGerald.

The most acceptable historical claim was the name that came from Captain Félix Ignacio Juan Nicolás Antonio José Joaquín Buenaventura Berenguer de Marquina y FitzGerald. ( Former Governor General of the Philippines – July 1, 1788 to September 1, 1793. ) Philippine historians like Dr. Trinidad Padro de Tavera and Dr. Teodoro Agoncillo.

There is a flower decorated right in the middle of her chest. It’s not just a decoration. It is a mark to signify how high the flood was during the typhoon “Ondoy” a.k.a. Typhoon Ketsana. It is one of the 3 or 4 legends which the name ” Marikina” was derive. We also toured parts of the river and we saw some birds and fishes.

Teatro Marikina

Teatro Marikina is the cultural, convention, trade fairs and socio-civic center of Marikina. The theater had a seating capacity of 1,100 . Note: The rates may vary but usually starts at Php 15,000 ordinary days and Php 20,000 for weekends

Teatro Marikina is located at the corner of Shoe Avenue and V. Gomez Street, Barangay Sta. Elena Marikina City.